I recently did a Christian Music Year in Review post, wrapping up some of the stories that readers were talking about on the Gospel Soundcheck blog since I started writing back in June. Here are a few more memorable moments from 2008:
- Jordan Sparks spoke out at the MTV Video Music Awards in defense of purity rings and the Jonas Brothers, in response to a comment made by VMA host Russell Brand. Was she out of line to use the word "slut?" Probably not.
- The Jonas Brothers took mainstream music by storm, and even though they aren't technically a "Christian band," the brothers have been using their platform to share about their faith. Rolling Stone's cover story on the band talked about them praying before a show, and their purity rings have been a hot topic all year.
- In fact, Christian artists have been more and more visible in the mainstream music scene, from Jordin Sparks to the Jonas Brothers to at least half of Radio Disney's Incubator artists. It's becoming less and less cheesy to be a Christian and a music artist. We even saw the American Idol contestants sing "Shout To The Lord" on national TV. And David Cook did a (fairly bad) cover of Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move" as part of the competition. In fact, every time you turned on the TV, you heard Christian music, from Krystal Meyer's "Make Some Noise" on CBS to The Afters on more shows than I can count.
- A dozen of today's top songwriters and artists gathered to write songs, with all of the profits going to a new charity called CompassionArt. In today's money-driven industry, it's a breath of fresh air that everyone involved - from the artists to managers and producers - gave up their piece of the pie to help the world's needy.
- Third Day earned their place in mainstream music. The band was the first Christian band to grace the cover of Billboard magazine back in June. They also made the Dallas Morning News' top 10 CDs and concerts of 2008.
- The news that Katy Perry once released a Christian album under her real name, Katy Hudson, has had bloggers buzzing for months. I reported it back in June, and it's still the most read post on my blog.
- We learned this year that sometimes we can be too trusting. In August, Michael Guglielmucci admitted to the world that he'd been faking cancer for two years. The Hillsong CD and DVD "This is Our God" had just released, and the church recut the video to remove a lengthy section with Guglielmucci discussing his cancer and treatment.
- The music industry lost some legends this year, as well. In February, CCM legend Larry Norman passed away after a long battle with heart problems. In May, gospel legend Dottie Rambo was killed when her tour bus ran off the road on the way to a show. In July, the Mighty Clouds of Joy's Michael Cook suffered a massive coronary.
- The economy affected the Christian music industry, but as John Styll, President and CEO of the Gospel Music Association, explained, Christian music is always at an economic disadvantage. Even so, Christian music radio became the second most popular music format in the US, behind Country music. Christian music accounts for 945 stations nationwide, double the number a decade ago.
Check out the Joanne Brokaw's "Christian Music (Half) Year In Review," a look back at the stories you were talking about on the Gospel Soundcheck blog.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Don't get me wrong, Mandy. I love David Cook (just bought is album) and I was so stoked that he sang that song on the show. I just thought it was kind of a lame rendition, given his talent. And yes, he only did a short version, which also was bad.
Glad you found Switchfoot, though! That's good news! :)
Joanne
host of the GS blog
I thought "Shout To the Lord" was one of American Idol's best group performances that season (and I don't consider myself a religious person). I also agree with Mandy. I thought that David Cook sounded awesome in that Switchfoot song. However, the arrangement was flawed because it ended too abruptly and I think that is why he got bad reviews. I'm still bummed that he didn't make a longer studio version of the song because I think it would have been amazing.
David Cook sounded awesome on Dare You to Move. There was one off note in the whole thing. Unfortunately it was the last note and the one that stayed with us. But I've heard it over and over on my tape of that show and it was incredible up until the one final note. I still have never heard Switchfoot. But, I could listen to David Cook all day and night. Plus, I love his family values, his generosity and work towards charity. He lives a Christian life and every song he sings is done with heart and soul.
I agree with Your Name above. They tried to get way too much in that night and the song was rushed and ended abruptly on a bad note. The entire rest of the song was beautifully done. I love David Cook and his respect for family, his work for charity, and his good midwestern, Christian values. I could listen to him sing all day. In fact, sometimes I do.
I heard of Switchfoot through the Jonas Brothers, myself, within the last 18 months...Joe Jonas did a cover of "Twenty-Four" at a small, free after-show at the House of Blue in Los Angeles just after the AMAs last year (you can find it on YouTube). Whether or not you enjoy it will depend on whether or not you love Joe's voice (which I do)! Beautifully melancholy song, and I think his performance was quite heartfelt. So go Switchfoot this year, getting out there thanks to word of mouth from the more mainstream artists they've influenced.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.